Dinner party games

Modern murder mystery games for dinner parties are often structured so that each guest is equally involved. Murder Mystery Dinner Party Game Kits can take the form of scripted games or interactive games.^[4] A player's preference will be driven by how they want their party to progress. Scripted Games are where a small group of people sit around a table and play a planned out Murder Mystery; whereas Interactive games are set up similar to parties, with the players having to find clues to figure out who the murderer is instead of scripts.

In scripted murder mystery games, the participants are told exactly what to say and when. They are often provided with introductory statements, questions to ask, answers to give, and occasionally some shared dialogue to break the ice. Character information often comes in booklets which are read from throughout the course of the evening, usually around a table in rounds with the sole purpose being to solve the murder. These were popular in the 1990s with the How To Host Box Games. There is no room for ad-libbing in scripted games; players may act out their character, but interactions are restricted to the information provided in the game.

In interactive murder mystery games the guests are provided with character backgrounds and confidential information. Unlike scripted games, there are many sub-plots and the goal isn't just to solve the murder. A dinner normally takes place during the party, but the guests are not restricted to sitting around a table and can move around, talking to whoever they want, when they want. They are given a license to interrogate, perform actions, or partake in activities with the other guests which will help them solve the case or accomplish their own characters' goals. Interactive games do allow for ad-libbing and allow a player to take their character in an original direction. Some games will allow the murderer to know upfront that they are the killer, and others will keep it a secret until the rest of the group is told during a solution round.

The games for 6 to 20+ players usually takes over 2–3 hours and the players use their character booklets and clues (i.e., the game contents) to delve into the background of the murder using the questions, answers, hints, evidence, and clues provided. These are all designed to elicit more and more information about the murder until the players are in a good position to suggest who they believe the guilty party is.

More often than not, hosts invite players to attend the party dressed as, and ready to play the part of, one of the suspects listed in the game scenario. The scripted game is usually played over a three-course dinner party, whereas an interactive game can be played in a mix-and-mingle style format with finger foods, a buffet, or a sit-down dinner.

Interactive games are also used in team-building environments. Companies and church groups have found them to be a good resource for fostering good communication skills and building closer relationships among individuals. Organizers of the mystery can assign roles and characters based on their knowledge of the guests.

Large group murder mystery game

Because not everyone can take a role in a large group game, the role of "suspect" is usually given to actors, who learn scripts or ad lib a performance which will gradually reveal who the murderer is to the other guests. The actors are fully "in the know" about all aspects of the case.

The remaining guests will take on the role of detective and it will be their "job" to actively solve the case by examining evidence, finding clues, following and questioning suspects.

Large group events can be run in several ways including:

• In a single room with a staged theatrical performance.
• With actors acting "in the round" amongst the guests.
• In multiple rooms with clues scattered throughout the venue and suspects in different areas.
• As more traditional card games with clue cards given to the guests with chunks of information on each one.
• In video format with evidence being presented to teams after watching suspect videos.
• In a combination of script and clue evidence.

Large group games are often played in a hired venue, a restaurant, a hotel, or at a workplace. They are often used for fundraisers, team building, and corporate events.

Live versions of murder mystery shows, in which guests attend commercial venues such as hotels as paying viewers, are sometimes classified as dinner theater or mystery dinners, rather than murder mystery games.

However, there are interactive games that were created for large groups of over 200 guests. Typically, these events are hosted like the other format of interactive games, but some characters in the game are expanded into teams to allow for everyone in the group to have a role.

Jubensha

Murder-mystery games known as jubensha (lit. 'scripted murder') became popular in China in the late 2010s, where players meet around a table and read through a script to deduce who among them is the murderer. Some venues offer "immersive jubensha" games where players dress in costume, and venue staff perform the roles of non-player characters.^[5] The games draw inspiration from Western murder mystery evenings.^[6]

By early 2022, there were more than 30,000 jubensha venues in China.^[7]